Traditional models of charitable donation are cumbersome and receive a positive response from a very limited donor pool. For example, general models of donation require the donor initiate the donation transaction or at the very least respond in equal measure as the recipient of a donation request. In some cases the donor can respond to a donation request by mailing a check or submitting credit card information online. These are both actions that rely on the donor initiative. As a result, the success rate with mail-in or internet submitted donations is limited.
One conventional approach to making donation transactions more convenient is to provide the donor the opportunity to donate over the phone. Typically, organizations will call potential donors (e.g., a pledge drive) or the donor may call in to the organization unprompted to submit a donation. The donor then provides either credit card or bank account information that is used by the organization to process the donation transaction. While these methods provide the donor with some convenience in when and where they can make their donation, some donors are hesitant to provide confidential banking/credit card information over the phone and are deterred from donating using this model.
In an effort to make donation transactions easier and more appealing to a broader pool of donors, several organizations utilize a mobile device text model for receiving donations. In these systems the donor texts a word or phrase to a designated number and their donation is charged to their telephone bill. This model, while slightly more convenient for the donor, requires donors pay the donation amount on their phone bill, making it harder to track their charitable contributions, which may not appeal to some donors. Additionally, some donors will be charged text messaging rates by their mobile service provider in addition to their donation amount. While text messaging charges are generally small, the implication of having an additional charge, unrelated to the donation, on their phone bill may detract some donors. Therefore, a need in the art exists for systems and methods that overcome one or more of the above-described limitations of conventional donation models.